Life Your Way {Full}

See My First Grader Save the Earth…from Juice Pouches!

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 22:30:36 GMT

The following post is from Katie of Kitchen Stewardship:

Open mouth, insert…juice boxes?

Sometimes I say things without thinking.

We’d been at my son’s new school for about a month when I visited for the Christmas party. (And yes, they did actually call it a Christmas party in a public school. Kind of refreshing, I thought.)

The kids were all starting to clean up and throw away their Capri Sun juice pouches, when my green consciousness kicked in. It was like a no-waste reflex, a gut reaction that couldn’t be stopped.

“Did you know those can be recycled?” I blurted out to the teacher. “I can look into how to do it…I’ll take them home.”

Open mouth, insert foot. Foot tastes like juice.

A month later, I find myself the coordinator for the Terracycle juice pouch collection project for the entire K-4 school.

Luckily, the rewards are good: both the school and the earth benefit.

Terracycle recycles and re-purposes foil juice pouches of all brands and pays the school two cents per pouch.

Our job (my 6-year-old son is my team member!) will be to collect the pouches from the cafeteria, and when we reach one thousand, we can request a postage-paid shipping label from Terracycle and send them in. (The rules just changed, however, and we only get one cent per pouch unless our shipment includes 5,000+ pouches. Phew.)

It’s been quite gratifying to see so visually how much waste we can save from being trashed each week.

Week One:

source: Kitchen Stewardship

Week Two:

source: Kitchen Stewardship

If you’re looking for a way to teach your child a little eco-conscious activism, I highly recommend looking into Terracycle. Juice pouches aren’t the only thing they collect, either.

Here’s all we had to do:

1. Register an account online. This took 5-10 minutes.

2. Get the principal’s approval. My son’s teacher is 100% behind me, so that was painless and quick via email.

3. Make a box. This was a good craft project for the whole family and took about half an hour to an hour. One could easily just buy a plastic tub, too, but I am a fervent repurposer…

source: Kitchen Stewardship

4. Type up a sign for the box. My job, 15 minutes.

5. Type a letter of explanation for the parent newsletter and communicate with the principal:

It’s always great to get a 2-for-1 deal, especially when it helps our kids and supports Brown Elementary. Our school can get two benefits with one simple action: recycling drink pouches (such as Capri Sun) will earn money for Brown AND help save the Earth by reducing waste in our landfills.

There’s a new box in the cafe for collections – please encourage your child(ren) to put any brand of drink pouches (the foil kind, not drink boxes) in the box. Removing the straw first will be a big help. If you send in juice pouches for classroom parties, help remind the teacher to send a student down to the cafe with the empties.

Thank you so much for participating! You can see more info at terracycle.com.

6. Collect the pouches. I pick up the kids one day a week anyway; so, we’ve been grabbing the pouches at that time. Our box has been just the right size!

7. Here’s the hard part, and the job we haven’t done yet: counting the pouches. The Terracycle website tells us that 1,000 pouches weighs about nine pounds, so I’m pretty tempted to just go that route. Maybe we’ll count the first 100 just to see what one hundred looks like, and then go by weight.

What are YOU going to do?

Whether you can find a Terracycle “brigade” to coordinate or not, set a goal to raise the green consciousness of your children in any way you can. It brought joy to my heart to hear my son pushing me, “Come on, Mom, we gotta get that box done – I see kids throwing away the juice pouches every day and it’s such waste!”

He was pretty pumped that the first day we collected, after only four days of the program being school-wide, the box was full. Saving the earth can be pretty exciting.

I’m just hoping that I don’t taste juicy foot in my mouth when we get to the whole “storing up five thousand juice pouches” part. Good thing we have a 2-car garage now!

Can you think of a way to help your child’s school (or your workplace) be more eco-friendly?

	Katie Kimball is a mom of three who spends a ton of time in the kitchen making real food with whole ingredients and then blogs about her successes and failures at Kitchen Stewardship. She believes everything in life is a gift from God and should be taken care of wisely.

See My First Grader Save the Earth…from Juice Pouches! is a post from Life...Your Way

© 2010-2012 Purple Martin Press, LLC | All rights reserved - This feed is provided for the convenience of Green Your Way subscribers. Any reproduction of the content within this feed is strictly prohibited. If you are reading this content elsewhere, please send an email to contact@yourway.net to let us know. Thanks.

Printable “Flying High” Valentines

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:30:39 GMT

source: Mandi Ehman

I absolutely love this pink paper airplane, and the minute I saw it, I knew I needed to use it for printable Valentine’s Day cards!

Whether you’re writing a note to a friend, child or the love of your life, these bifold cards are the perfect way to tell them how you feel.

They come in two different sizes, 3×3″ and 5×5″, with three different savings:

“you make my heart soar”
“fly high, valentine”
“how can I ex-plane how I feel about you?”

Aren’t they sweet? Enjoy!

Click here to download or print your “Flying High” Valentines.

	Mandi Ehman is the founder and publisher behind Life…Your Way and the co-author of All in Good Time, as well as a wife and the homeschooling mom to four beautiful girls. She lives with her family on a little slice of heaven in wild, wonderful West Virginia and loves coffee, chocolate, easy meals, beautiful things and minimalist spaces.

Printable “Flying High” Valentines is a post from Life...Your Way

© 2010-2012 Purple Martin Press, LLC | All rights reserved - This feed is provided for the convenience of Motherhood Your Way subscribers. Any reproduction of the content within this feed is strictly prohibited. If you are reading this content elsewhere, please send an email to contact@yourway.net to let us know. Thanks.

4 Tasty Ways with Leftovers

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:00:43 GMT

source: Good Cheap Eats

The following post is from Jessica of GoodCheapEats and LifeasMOM:

Coming off the heels of a month-long pantry challenge, I am reminded of the cost benefits of making the most of what you already have. Throughout the month of January, I shopped my kitchen before going elsewhere. As a result, I was able to shave a good $200 or more off my regular grocery spending. We still ate well, using what we already had in the kitchen.

One of the ways that I pulled this off was through the creative use of leftovers. Now, for some reason folks get this negative image of leftovers. I suppose it’s from the notion that if it had been really tasty, there wouldn’t have been any left over.

While this may sometimes be the case, often leftovers are usually just the result of cooking too much or of your diners not having their typically voracious appetites. That being said, sometimes we just don’t want to eat the same thing too many nights in a row.

So how can you make the most of leftovers? Let me count the ways:

1. Package them for the freezer.

Perhaps you love the dish you made, but you don’t want to have it again tomorrow. No problem. Simply wrap it well for the freezer and serve it on another night when you do have a hankering for that particular dish. You might even consider packing individual servings to use in lunch boxes for work or school.

Consult this list for foods that freeze well.

source: Life as MOM

2. Make a potpie.

Leftover cooked meats, vegetables, and gravy are the perfect makings for a pot pie. Even if you just have one of those items, chances are you can scare up the others from what you already have in your refrigerator or freezer. Whip up a batch of pie crust and roll out a few circles. Depending on how much filling you have, you might even make two pies and freeze one for later.

For a really quick pot pie, fill greased baking dishes with the filling and top with a single top crust. Slice an “X” to allow steam to escape and pop it into a 375 ° oven for 45 minutes or until the crust is browned and the filling bubbles.

If you’ve got a lot of mashed potatoes leftover, consider preparing a Shepherd’s Pie.

3. Make soup.

Soup from leftovers is a time tested tradition. Just make sure that you start with sauteed onions. Add a rich broth. Use leftover cooked meats, beans, vegetables, pasta, or sauces to make something from nothing.

Thursday Night Soup is a great starting point recipe. This Cream of Turkey and Wild Rice Soup is out of this world. Your options are really limitless.

Check out this great tip on how to make the most of little leftovers and make a great-tasting soup.

4. Toss a salad.

Cooked potatoes, rice, quinoa, and pasta make hearty bases for any number of cold salads. If you have too much from last night’s dinner, transform it into something new.

Leftover corn on the cob can become a tasty corn salad. Grilled or roast chicken combines with mayo and spices for a delicious chicken salad. Add leftover grilled steak to a hearty salad with bleu cheese.

With a little creativity, you can give leftovers new life — without feeling like you were eating “leftovers.” Not only will you waste less, but you’ll save money in the kitchen. You might even discover a new favorite flavor combination.

How do you give leftovers new life?

	A foodie at heart, Jessica Fisher has learned to reconcile a tight budget with her love for great food. As a busy mom of six voracious eaters, she regularly shares healthy, delicious and budget-friendly recipes at GoodCheapEats. She also writes at her parenting blog, LifeasMOM.

4 Tasty Ways with Leftovers is a post from Life...Your Way

© 2010-2012 Purple Martin Press, LLC | All rights reserved - This feed is provided for the convenience of Food Your Way subscribers. Any reproduction of the content within this feed is strictly prohibited. If you are reading this content elsewhere, please send an email to contact@yourway.net to let us know. Thanks.

Amazon Deals: Kindle Freebies, Diaper Deals + More

Mandi — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 17:46:47 +0000

My mom and are having a lot of fun sharing the best Amazon.com deals over at our new site, Jungle Deals & Steals. In case you missed them, here are some of this week’s hottest deals that are still available!

{Click here for the full list of current deals.}

Kindle

Toys

Grocery

Household

Media

Make sure you don’t miss any deals! Subscribe now by email or in a feed reader.

Amazon Deals: Kindle Freebies, Diaper Deals + More is a post from Life...Your Way

© 2010-2012 Purple Martin Press, LLC | All rights reserved - This feed is provided for the convenience of Life...Your Way subscribers. Any reproduction of the content within this feed is strictly prohibited. If you are reading this content elsewhere, please send an email to contact@yourway.net to let us know. Thanks.

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Giveaway: $50 Tango Gift Card {A Flexible Gift Card!}

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 17:01:32 GMT

If you are racking your brain trying to think of the perfect gift for Valentine’s Day — or any occasion — let your sweetheart pick it out using the best gift card yet…the Tango Card!

The Tango Card is a versatile gift card where the recipient can select from top-name brands, donate to charity, or even redeem for cash — making it the perfect gift.

You’ll find favorite retailers such as Amazon, SpaFinder, Starbucks, Pottery Barn and Gap as well as non-profits like Habitat for Humanity and the National Park Foundation. So, for example, imagine you have a $50 Tango Card; you can go spend $30 at Amazon.com, then donate $10 to the USO and then get $10 on a Starbucks card.

With the free Tango Card mobile app, you can manage all of your gift cards from your phone. You can also set up email alerts to make sure they don’t gather dust like the physical gift cards you’ve probably got in your kitchen junk drawer.

For critics who say that gift cards are impersonal, Tango Card offers a couple of different ways to make them personal for the recipient:

Create a Tiny Prints personalized greeting card and have a Tango Card printed right inside!

With ‘What I Got’ (WIG), gift recipients can take a photo of what they bought with their gift card, and then share it directly with the gift giver.

Enter to Win

This week, Tango Card is giving one lucky Life…Your Way reader a $50 Tango Gift Card!

To enter, tell me how you would redeem your Tango gift card. Would you pick a gift card, donate to charity or redeem it for cash? A combination of all three?

This giveaway ends at 11:59 p.m. ET on Friday,, 2/10. The winner will be selected randomly and notified by email, and this post will be updated with their name as well!

Giveaway: $50 Tango Gift Card {A Flexible Gift Card!} is a post from Life...Your Way

Weekend Reading: February 4, 2012

Mandi — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 13:42:21 +0000

source: Mandi Ehman

Our weekends just got a little busier as the girls start gymnastics each Saturday! But they’re so excited, and my hope for them is that they’ll be able to do a cartwheel since I never could (ha!).

I’m hoping this weekend will also include some downtime to just sit and relax (and read!). We’ll see…

Here are some of my favorite posts from this week. As always, check out what I’m reading to see the other posts that make me stop and think. You’ll find new posts all week long!

Looking for Valentines to support a good cause? My friend Katie and her family are currently in Colombia picking up their new daughter, and they’ve got some adorable printable Valentines available to help them cover some unexpected expenses of their 4-6 week stay. Check ‘em out here.

Motherhood {Love & Marriage}

How to Feed Your Marriage | Project Happily Ever After

In a Rut? Spice It Up. | The Finer Things in Life

How to {Make} Love {into a marriage} | A Holy Experience

Food {On the Menu This Week}

Cinnamon Thyme Chicken | The Plan to Eat Blog

Apple Cinnamon Glazed Sweet Potatoes | Saving and Giving

Banana Pudding | Southern Living

Success {I Think, Therefore I Am}

I Find What Happy Women Get Right | Sarah Wilson

Qualifications | The Art of Non-Conformity

3 Actions You Can Take Now to Shift Your Emotional State | Michael Hyatt

Have a great weekend!

Weekend Reading: February 4, 2012 is a post from Life...Your Way

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4 Tips for Family Computing

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:30:45 GMT

The following post is from Michelle of Mommy Misadventures:

source: Rick & Brenda Beerhorst

Computers are a fixture in many families lives and kids are learning to use the computer for both learning and entertainment at increasingly younger ages. Rather than allowing your children to sequestered themselves away with a computer in their room, consider setting up a single computer for your family to use. A family computer is a wonderful way to encourage your kids to learn and use technology in a safe, controlled environment.

Use a desktop or all-in-one

I recommend using a desktop or an all-in-one computer over a laptop as a central family computer. Laptops are easily brought from room to room which is convenient but makes it more difficult to supervise your family’s usage.

Actively supervising your children while they use the Internet is essential to helping keep your child safe online. (Microsoft recommends that children under the age of 10 be supervised while using the Internet.) The placement of a shared family computer should be in a central location, like a great room or media room so that parents can more easily monitor what their kids are doing.

If the idea of a bulky desktop in the great room for all to see makes you cringe, consider all-in-ones like the Apple iMac or the Dell Inspiron 2320 which are great computers with a sleek, pleasing to look at profiles.

Personalize it

Get kids excited about using the computer by encouraging them to make it their own. Create individual log-ins for each of your children and allow your kids to choose their icon and personalize their desktop however they want.

If the family computer is actually going to be mostly used by younger kids, invest in a child-friendly keyboard and mouse. I recommend the Crayola USB EZ Type Keyboard which has HUGE colorful keys, perfect for a small child. For a mouse, you may want to try a small mouse that can more easily fit in small hands, like this Chester Creek Tiny Mouse.

Secure it

While no software enabled firewall can substitute for parental supervision, the right family controls can help you create a safer environment for your child.

Both Microsoft Windows 7 and Apple Mac OS X have native family safety tools that let you do things like allowing/blocking access to websites, setting time limits and log-in times. (You can learn more about Microsoft Parental Controls here and Apple’s Parental Controls here.) There are a variety of third-party Internet monitoring tools available that have more powerful monitoring and blocking capabilities, including NetNanny and Norton Online Family.

Use a kid-friendly browser

While your standard browsers (IE, Firefox, Chrome, etc.) are fine for tweens and teens, families with school aged children or younger may want to take a look at some of the kids browsers out there. Unlike standard web browsers, where you can go ahead and enter the addresses of wherever you want to visit, browsers for younger kids allow you to connect to pre-approved kids websites. Kids browsers are designed with younger children in mind and are part activity center, part browser. They often feature easy to use interfaces, bright colors and offer kiosk-like, full-screen browsing.

KidZui

KidZui is a Windows-based browser that allows kids to browse popular websites, search online and play kids games. All of the content on KidZui has been pre-screened by the KidZui editorial staff and also by parents and teachers. KidZui is free to download and use.

Zoodles

Zoodles is a kids browser that includes educational games and activities. One of the features I particularly like about Zoodles is the ability to customize your child’s Playground to their age. It offers a set of Premium features as well including promoting particular skills, selecting activities and the ability to block particular content. (Love this feature – My three year old loves Spongebob; I can’t say I share her adoration.) Zoodles offers a free Basic membership which includes Premium features start at $5.95 per month with a 14 day free trial.

KIDO’Z

This is a an Adobe Air based browser (compatible with Windows, Mac, Linux, Android) with a fun, kid-friendly interface preloaded with a bunch of kid-friendly content. KIDO’Z main feature is its very powerful parental control, including exit control (kids cannot exit KIDO’Z without a password), usage statistics and multilingual support. KIDO’Z is free to download and use for 30 days after which it is subscription based, starting at $4.99 per month or a one time payment of $59.99 for a lifetime membership.

Do you use a family computer? What are your favorite websites and kid-friendly applications?

	Michelle Mista is an IT professional, freelance writer and blogger. A lifelong geek, she muses about motherhood at Mommy Misadventures. She is on the constant quest to balance life, work and geekery.

4 Tips for Family Computing is a post from Life...Your Way

© 2010-2012 Purple Martin Press, LLC | All rights reserved - This feed is provided for the convenience of Technology Your Way subscribers. Any reproduction of the content within this feed is strictly prohibited. If you are reading this content elsewhere, please send an email to contact@yourway.net to let us know. Thanks.

Valentine’s Day Snacks & Party Ideas {Finding Cupid}

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:01:16 GMT

I love Valentine’s Day, and this year we’ll be Finding Cupid through crafts, treats, printables and more, with plenty of opportunities for other bloggers to share the things they’re doing in daily link parties. And be sure to download the free Finding Cupid ebook!

source: Mandi Ehman

My parents always made sherbert punch in a bowl for parties when I was growing up, but for a fun twist and less mess, consider making sherbert floats in individual glasses or cups instead.

To add a special touch, tie a ribbon around the rim of each glass and/or make fun straw toppers by cutting a heart out of felt. Then add two slits (no wider than the straw) to slip the straw through.

So cute!

Ingredients:

sherbert
gingerale
pineapple juice, optional

Directions:

Add a generous scoop of sherbert to each jar.

If using pineapple juice, pour on top of the sherbert until the jar is about 1/3 full.

Fill with gingerale and let sit for at least 15 minutes so that the flavors can mix. To add more bubbles, top with a bit more gingerale when you’re ready to serve!

More Snacks & Party Ideas

source: Finer Things in Life

Visit The Finer Things in Life, where Amy is sharing a fun, healthy treat for Valentine’s Day to help balance out all the sugar!

Share your projects below. If you’re a blogger, click the blue Add your link button to add your post to Inlinkz. If you’re not a blogger, we’d still love to have you play: share the description of your project in a comment below and click the +Image link to upload a picture!

Valentine’s Day Snacks & Party Ideas {Finding Cupid} is a post from Life...Your Way

A Day in the Life of a Work-at-Home, Homeschooling Mom

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 22:47:54 GMT

source: Mandi Ehman

I’m joining the Day in a Life series from Simple Homeschool to give you a peek into our day!

Here’s what Wednesday, 2/1 looked like in our house:

Please note that this was a very productive day, both because of my early wakeup and because I was keeping track of what I was getting done (accountability is a great motivator!). There are plenty of days where I spend more time on Facebook than I should, fail to cross very much off my to-do list or spend the day on the go. For example, today I had one Skype meeting and two online webinars. I was feeling pretty unmotivated in general and didn’t get nearly as much done as I should have in between those!

I also don’t always get as much time with the littles as I would like, but I really only work four full days (Fridays we have our homeschool group, and weekends may include some work, but not for the bulk of the day), so we count the blessing of being able to be home all together and make the best of it!

4:22am: I get up for the day. Well, at least to start my day. The baby woke up looking for her special blankie, and even though Sean got up with her, I’m having trouble falling back asleep (probably thanks to the latte I had with dinner), so I decide to get up and get started. There’s nothing I hate more than lying in bed frustrated because I can’t fall asleep, and I figure I can lay back down for a “nap” in an hour or two if I get to work now.

There’s an email from TOMS that the new ballet flats are available (which I’ve been waiting for for months since I saw a sneak peek on Pinterest), so I decide to start there!

4:33am: I spend some time cleaning up my inbox before I tackle my to-do list. I know popular advice is to wait until later to even open email, but getting an idea of what needs my attention first thing has always worked better for me. I delete liberally, reply to as many as I can quickly and save the rest for later, keeping time-sensitive emails that need my attention in my inbox (another no-no according to the “experts”) and things I want to refer back to later in a folder.

4:54am: My inbox is down to 1 email that needs more attention than I’m willing to give right now, so I move on to my to-do list. First up, “first of the month” tasks like paying affiliates, sending out the upcoming editorial calendar to contributors, etc.

5:23am: For the third morning in a row, my laptop has suddenly started freaking out. I really don’t want to have to move up to my office just yet (it’s cold up there and that will mean no morning nap!) so I decide to run a system restore and read some while it runs.

5:51am: It seems like everything is running normal again, except I lost all of my open tabs, so I work on getting those back and then focus on the next part of my to-do list, which includes:

Today’s posts on Life…Your Way (I try to get these done ahead of time, but it didn’t happen this week, so I am scheduling those for the day each morning)
Free kindle books post for Jungle Deals & Steals
Amazon deals roundup for Money Saving Mom

Ready, set, go!

(Side note: I’m already hungry with quite a while to go until breakfast; one of the hazards of getting up early!)

During this time, I also answer a couple questions on Skype, get the baby her morning milk, fight with very slow internet, give good morning kisses to the girls and wear a funny hat that the four year old brings me.

Sean’s making oatmeal, and the girls have headed down to the (unfinished) basement to rollerblade.

7:41am: The stupid laptop is freaking out again. I decide to hop in the shower before heading upstairs to the desktop.

8:20am: Okay, not quite a quick shower. Decided to pluck my eyebrows while I was in there, and truthfully, there’s nothing I love more than a hot shower for thinking and clearing my head. Since I didn’t get my nap, I figure a long shower was only fair!

source: Mandi Ehman

8:33am: I’m finally at my desk. Stopped to grab my oatmeal in the kitchen, and I noticed the fields outside were glowing as a storm cloud rolls in, so I grabbed my camera and headed outside to take a few pictures. Sean and the girls are downstairs having a sword fight with old wrapping paper tubes, so I stop to take a picture of that too.

One of Sean’s first stops in the morning is to turn on Pandora. Because of the layout of our house, we can all pretty much hear it wherever we are. I listen to music and browse Pinterest while I eat my breakfast.

source: Mandi Ehman

8:44am: The baby’s not enjoying the sword fight anymore, so she’s on my lap now. Gonna spend a few minutes scanning Google Reader to add posts to my Tumblr/Twitter feeds.

9:08am: Pinterest and Google Reader have been crossed off my list. The girls are back down in the basement playing, but I got an email from Peyton’s Sunday school teacher with this week’s memory verse, so I’m helping her write that out before I get back to work.

9:11am: We’ve been trying school in the afternoon this week, so while I would normally wind down now to get started for school, I tackle my to-do list instead. I’m definitely dragging from my 4am start, but I took my vitamin D and B12 and finished my first 20-ounce bottle of water. My goal is to drink at least 3 of these during the day, but hopefully closer to 4, just because I feel best when I drink lots of water.

10:55am: As I’m finishing my morning to-do list, the baby comes upstairs again and actually burns her knee on my “cool touch” space heater (so much for that feature). Much cuddling ensues.

11:15am: After cuddling the baby, I decide to go ahead and ride the bike while I read for 30 minutes.

11:55am: After my ride, I warm up some leftover pizza, make a pumpkin spice latte and head back upstairs to work for an hour before school, which consists of various little tasks since I don’t have time to work on a big project at this point.

1pm: I’m heading downstairs to homeschool. We do school in the master bedroom (I can’t exactly say why, but it’s my favorite place to do it), but the downside of doing school after lunch is we have to be quiet because the baby is asleep. That makes it a little stressful, although I liked getting so much done in the morning.

We don’t have a set order for our school time, but today it looks like this:

Classical Conversations memory work practice.

Language arts / writing activities, which includes narration for both girls followed by copywork for our 1st grader and letter activities for the kindergartener.

Peyton and I work on a number bonds book while Dylan draws in her journal.

We trace the shape of five states and talk about their capitals, state birds and state flowers.

Both girls spend 15 minutes reading to me (honestly, this part feels the longest to me of everything we do!); they take turns drawing pictures while the other one reads.

I read to them for about a half hour. Today we’re reading Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out and finally finishing All of a Kind Family.

We finish up with our workbooks. Both girls do Explode the Code and Singapore math.

While we’re doing school, Sean comes in to tell us that his mom just called and his grandfather has had a heart attack and been taken to the ER. He’s being prepped for surgery to get an external pacemaker. We stop to pray as a family and then the girls and I get back to work, not really knowing what else to do since we’re a few hours away and likely won’t be able to get in to see him anyway.

All in all, we spend three hours doing school, but I’m not entirely sure why it takes three hours; it seems like we should be able to get done faster or add more in, but it pretty consistently takes us that long just to get through the basics!

4pm: The girls head outside to play, while I work on stuff for our Classical Conversations class on Friday, where I tutor the 4-5 year olds. I print pages for our art project, go over the memory work we’ll be learning and make sure I have everything I need. Parker comes in because she thinks there’s a tick in her ear (there’s not!), and she asks me to print some coloring pages for her.

5pm: Parker and I head to the kitchen, where she colors and keeps me company while I start dinner (Chicken Pesto Pasta), work on the laundry and try to clean up the mess on the counters. I end up decluttering the cabinet above the refrigerator and unpacking my new Cuisinart food processor as well.

Eventually the rest of the girls come in and Sean sends Dylan and Sidney to the shower. Having older kids who can shower themselves and their baby sister is so fun!

6:15pm: Because I can’t seem to stay focused on cooking, we don’t end up eating until almost 6:15pm (despite it being a super easy meal!). We all sit down together to eat and then Sean and Peyton work on the dishes while I do more laundry and give the girls other tasks to help clean up.

6:45pm: The girls are done cleaning and settle in to watch a show on TV while Sean and I finish up.

7:15pm: We usually send the big girls up between 7:15 and 8pm, but tonight is definitely an early night thanks to my early wake up time. I also do bedtime almost 100% of the time, but tonight they kiss me downstairs and Sean does the tucking. I sing and play with the baby for a few more minutes before getting her settled in bed.

7:30pm: I’m working on finding Amazon deals for Jungle Deals & Steals (my last “have to” of the day) while Sean is designing graphics for one of his RC planes on the desktop upstairs. He saves them just as I finish with the deals, so I show him how to print them with the Silhouette.

8:15pm: We watch TV together for an hour and then I curl up to finish the book I’m reading (Yellow Crocus by Laila Ibrahim, a beautiful, poignant story told from the perspective of a slave; I highly recommend it!).

10:15pm: Although I had fully intended to go to bed early, I don’t finish my book until after 10, when Sean and I head to bed. We lay in bed for a long time talking about his grandfather, who has always been one of his very favorite people. I decide not to set my alarm for the morning because while I have plenty to do, I won’t be much good to anyone if I don’t get some sleep!

Earlier this week, Tsh invited me to join her on The Simple Mom Podcast to talk about how we both balance blogging, homeschooling and managing our homes (hint: neither of us “does it all”, as you can see!). I also shared my favorite store and which actress should play me in the movie about my life (ha!). Listen to or download the podcast here.

	Mandi Ehman is the founder and publisher behind Life…Your Way and the co-author of All in Good Time, as well as a wife and the homeschooling mom to four beautiful girls. She lives with her family on a little slice of heaven in wild, wonderful West Virginia and loves coffee, chocolate, easy meals, beautiful things and minimalist spaces.

A Day in the Life of a Work-at-Home, Homeschooling Mom is a post from Life...Your Way

How to Make Smart Financial Decisions

kate — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:32:20 +0000

The quickest way to sabotage your personal finances is to make lousy decisions with your money. Whether you made one big bad money move, or several smaller ones, it’s important to step back, look at what went wrong, and then follow these tips for making smart decisions in the future:

Give yourself some time.

It’s easy to make a mistake when you’re feeling rushed. So, give yourself some time to consider your expenditure. By giving yourself a little time, you’ll be better able to process the emotions of your financial decision. Sometimes we’re pressed into making decisions when a loved one dies or we receive an unexpected windfall. But there’s usually no harm in giving yourself a bit of time to process your feelings and determine the best course of action.

Do your homework.

You can avoid a lot of heartache if you spend a little time doing research. That means reading contracts before you sign, visiting the neighborhood at different times of day before you buy that house, or asking friends who they recommend for plumbers. Do some research on the internet to find potential solutions and money-saving ideas, talk to the experts in the field, and bounce your ideas off trusted friends and family members. The more information you know, the less opportunity there is for a money-sucking surprise.

How to Make Smart Financial Decisions is a post from Life...Your Way

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How to Make Smart Financial Decisions

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:30:57 GMT

The following post is from Christina of Northern Cheapskate:

photo credit: stuartpilbrow

Give yourself some time.

Do your homework.

Don’t be pressured.

If someone is pressuring you to make a quick decision, or is trying to sell you on one solution, stop and ask yourself what the motivation of that person is. Do they benefit by making you act? Are you letting your emotions get involved? (The tantruming toddler at the checkout lane demanding candy comes to mind). Guilt only works if you let it. Learn to say “no,” or at the very least, “not now.”

Consider your goals and values.

Think about your money and determine what is most important to you. For example, if your goal is to pay off debt, every decision you make should take that goal into consideration. For every book you buy or MP3 you download, you’re delaying your financial freedom. Refuse to support organizations that don’t jive with your values. Make sure that every purchase is made with the idea of obtaining quality and value.

Remember there’s no absolute right or wrong decision.

It is easy to get caught up in the idea that there is only “Option A” or “Option B,” when there are actually far more options. Sometimes you can find a compromise. Last year we set a goal to completely fund my husband’s Roth IRA. Unfortunately, we had a series of expensive bills that cut into our emergency fund. While we could have used what was left in our savings to fund the Roth, we didn’t want to decimate our emergency fund entirely. The compromise: We funded half of his Roth IRA and kept the rest in savings. We’re able to take advantage of good market prices now and keep that money invested longer, and we’re able to still have a little money to fall back on in an emergency.

No one cares about your money as you do, and since money doesn’t grow on trees, it is your job to take good care of it.

What steps do you take to make good money decisions?

	Christina Brown is the creator of Northern Cheapskate, a blog dedicated to frugal living through coupons, freebies, and money-saving ideas. She lives in the rural north woods of Minnesota where she clips coupons, pinches pennies, and chases her three boys (a 6-year-old and twin 4-year olds) as a stay-at-home mom.

How to Make Smart Financial Decisions is a post from Life...Your Way

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Free Valentine’s Day Printables {Finding Cupid}

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:29:42 GMT

source: Mandi Ehman

This fun printable is a great gift for the one you love. You could really use most (if not all) of the prompts for anyone you love — your husband, your children or even a friend — and customize the messages based on who you’re giving it too.

The set comes with ten prompts in three different colors (for a total of 30 cards), although you could definitely print more or less as needed. YFill out all of the cards ahead of time or even just keep them on hand to write a little love note from time to time to hide in a pocket, lunch box or briefcase.

source: Mandi Ehman

I then etched “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.” on the outside of a wide-mouth peanut butter jar. Cute, right? Glass etching is definitely my favorite project to do with the Silhouette machine!

source: Mandi Ehman

And here’s the final gift all put together! I can’t wait to write messages on all of the cards and give this to my husband.

Click here to download or print the I love you jar cards.

More Free Printables

source: Saving and Giving

Visit Saving and Giving, where Jennifer is sharing a set of fun color-me Valentine’s Day cards for kids!

Free Valentine’s Day Printables {Finding Cupid} is a post from Life...Your Way

Homemade Baking Soda & Coconut Oil Deodorant

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 23:30:45 GMT

source: Mandi Ehman

Embarrassing confession time: since having babies, my hormones seem to be a lot more active, and there have been times that I’ve resorted to buying the expensive “prescription strength” deodorant to deal with the excessive sweating and resulting odor. This is especially true in those first few postpartum weeks, but I’ve found my sweat glands to be more active in general in the past few years.

However, deodorant is one of those things I’ve always been wary of. I haven’t really ever worn antiperspirant because the idea of stopping my body from doing something it was created to do doesn’t sit well with me.

There are also many people who believe sweating is one way our body rids itself of toxins; although the mainstream medical community doesn’t support this claim. In addition, antiperspirants also contains aluminum, which may contribute to Alzheimer’s, breast cancer and other diseases. Even regular deodorant contains many chemicals that I avoid in general, such as triclosan and artificial fragrances.

Frankly, while those connections haven’t been proven, I figure better safe than sorry. For a while I was simply patting my underarms with baking soda, which is very effective. Unfortunately, it’s also a bit irritating.

Last year I took it a step further and decided to try making my own deodorant. It’s easy, inexpensive and the most effective deodorant I’ve ever used!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup baking soda
1/4 cup cornstarch
5 tablespoons coconut oil
essential oils, optional

Directions:

Mix the baking soda and cornstarch together in a bowl. Add the coconut oil. Mix well. You can also add essential oils for a more noticeable scent, but it’s not necessary.

Note: If it’s as cold in your house as it is in ours right now, you may need to warm the coconut oil up a bit first to make it soft enough to mix! I recommend doing that on the stove rather than the microwave. Or wait until after dinner and stick a bowl of coconut oil in the oven for a few minutes while it cools.

Store in a jar with a tight lid or transfer to an empty deodorant container.

Coconut oil’s melting point is just 76 degrees. The baking soda and cornstarch will give it a thicker consistency, but you may still want to keep it in the refrigerator during warmer months!

Have you tried homemade deodorant?

	Mandi Ehman is the founder and publisher behind Life…Your Way and the co-author of All in Good Time, as well as a wife and the homeschooling mom to four beautiful girls. She lives with her family on a little slice of heaven in wild, wonderful West Virginia and loves coffee, chocolate, easy meals, beautiful things and minimalist spaces.

Homemade Baking Soda & Coconut Oil Deodorant is a post from Life...Your Way

Mindset for Moms: From Mundane to Marvelous Thinking in Just 30 Days

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:01:32 GMT

I am privileged to call Jamie Martin a friend. Over the past 2+ years, I have worked with her (and the rest of the Simple Living Media crew) as the ad manager for that network of sites. And what I know for sure is that she is full of both wisdom and grace.

Her first book, Steady Days, has permanent spot on my shelf…when I’m not loaning it out to other people, that is. She pierces to the heart of motherhood regularly at her personal blog, Steady Mom, while also sharing tons of practical homeschooling tips at Simple Homeschool.

When she mentioned she was working on a second book, I was excited to see what she had in store, but she went far beyond what I expected. I have been raving about Mindset for Moms since I read the first draft, and the final version is even better than the first!

Mindset for Moms

Mindset for Moms includes 30 snippets to help us as moms change our thinking and fully embrace the crazy lives we’ve been given. In her typical style, Jamie packs a lot of meat into as few words as possible, making each chapter a quick and easy read.

About her personal journey and the inspiration for this book, Jamie says:

In time I realized that much of my negativity stemmed from my thinking. I slowly discovered that my happiness had less to do with my circumstances and more to do with my thoughts about those circumstances.

As I began to learn how to choose my mindset with more intention, I found that much of my life also started to change…from the way I felt physically, to the way I handled challenges, to even the home we now live in.

Life isn’t perfect, but it is incredible.

I want that for you, too.

To help you transform your thinking, Mindset for Moms contains 30 bite-size lessons about positive thinking as it relates to motherhood. Jamie walks you through controlling your thoughts rather than letting your thoughts control you — something I know I need to consciously practice every day.

For less than $5, you can download and begin reading Mindset for Moms in a matter of seconds!

P.S. If you prefer, you can also download it for your Kindle or Nook.

Mindset for Moms: From Mundane to Marvelous Thinking in Just 30 Days is a post from Life...Your Way

5 Ways to Show Your Clients You Care

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:30:18 GMT

The following post is from Lisa of Working Naked:

source: schipulites

My friend’s grandma used to say, “Don’t do special for me.” She didn’t want anyone to make a fuss over her because she knew her family cared and didn’t need anyone to prove it to her.

What about your clients? Do they know you care? Meeting your clients’ needs, completing their projects on time, and helping their business grow is part of your commitment to your clients. It’s also one way to show your clients indirectly that you truly take an interest in them. Consider these five easy, inexpensive, yet more direct ways to show your clients that you care.

#1 Congratulate your clients on milestone events.

When a client is celebrating a birthday, anniversary or a promotion, you can send an e-card, but a card you send via snail mail can mean even more. Don’t just sign the card…include a short, personal note. Although you’ll want to acknowledge happy occasions, don’t forget the sad ones. One of my clients recently lost her husband to cancer; so, I sent her a card and made a donation to the charity included in her husband’s obituary. It was a small gesture, but I wanted her to know that I was thinking of her during a difficult time for her and her family.

#2 Keep in touch with your clients on a regular basis.

You don’t need to meet with your clients in person, or talk with them via Skype or over the phone every week. Instead, be creative. Think of ways to let your clients know you’re available to meet their needs. You could send your clients a monthly newsletter (after you ask if you can add them to your email list) or forward articles from online magazines or newspapers that relate to your clients. Keep it low key, and at all costs, avoid being pushy. The goal is to be a resource for your clients, but to do so without being annoying.

#3 Send business anniversary cards to celebrate the date you and your client started working together.

I know this seems corny and sentimental, and isn’t appropriate for all clients, but the right clients will appreciate a card or a brief e-mail from you. Keep in mind how unusual that gesture is. In fact, it’s so unusual they’ll probably remember it for a long time. Look for the date in your calendar or in your files. If you’re looking for a way to stand out from your competitors, acknowledging your anniversary date is a good place to start.

#4 Use your detective skills to discover your clients’ hobbies and interests.

Some of your clients may be avid golfers, experts at playing Angry Birds or dedicated movie buffs. After you complete a big project, send your client a thank you gift that appeals to him or her. Or you could make a donation to your client’s favorite charity. Make sure his or her company doesn’t have a policy against accepting gifts. You don’t want your client to misunderstand the meaning behind your gesture or get fired because they accepted a gift from you.

#5 Include your clients in non-business activities.

Most of your client interactions may be strictly business and limited to short meetings. The next time you’re invited to a business event or have extra tickets to a sporting event, consider inviting a client to go with you. I’ve invited clients to breakfast meetings and to hear guest speakers at different events. While you’re out with your client, do your best to avoid talking about business. You’re there to connect, not sell.

Undoubtedly your clients know that you have their best interests at heart. You can assume they know you care about them and that you want them to succeed, or you can take steps to make sure they know how much you care.

Is there something special or memorable you’ve done for a client?

	Home office expert Lisa Kanarek is the founder of WorkingNaked.com and the author of five books about working from home, including Organize Your Home Office For Success. Lisa works with entrepreneurs and home-based employees through seminars and individual consultations, to create functional home offices that meet each individual’s working style.

5 Ways to Show Your Clients You Care is a post from Life...Your Way

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5 Ways to Show Your Clients You Care is a post from Life...Your Way

© 2010-2011 Purple Martin Press, LLC | All rights reserved - This feed is provided for the convenience of Success Your Way subscribers. Any reproduction of the content within this feed is strictly prohibited. If you are reading this content elsewhere, please send an email to contact@yourway.net to let us know. Thanks.

DIY Valentine’s Day Decor {Finding Cupid}

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 13:01:22 GMT

source: Mandi Ehman

We had so much fun creating “snowy windows” last year, and I had been looking for a similar idea for Valentine’s Day. I came across a cute pom pom version on Pinterest but since nothing says “Valentine’s Day” quite like conversation hearts, I decided to try making my own version with this popular candy.

The result is a colorful, fun addition to our family room. When the vents are blowing, they start spinning around, which just adds to their charm!

And it’s a super easy project too!

source: Mandi Ehman

Supplies:

1 bag large conversation hearts
string or dental floss
hot glue gun
strong tape

Directions:

Start by deciding how many strands you’ll need and cutting your string or floss in varying lengths to fill the space.

Lay out your first string and lay your conversation hearts next to it (words facing down) at regular intervals. I didn’t want mine to be lined up, so I used between 6-9 conversation hearts on each strand to create some variation.

Carefully take your hot glue gun and add a dab of glue to the back of each heart. I did up to 8 at a time, but you have to work quickly so that it doesn’t harden. Then lay the string over the center of each heart, carefully pulling down on the ends so that it “cuts” into the glue for a secure hold.

Once the glue is completely dry, hang the strand on the window. The first time we did this, our strands slipped out of the tape (they’re on the heavy side!), so I’d recommend wrapping the string loosely around the tape so that it can’t slip out. Tape in place on the window frame.

Repeat until you’re done!

More DIY Decor

source: BHG.com

For even more DIY projects, visit My Blessed life, where Myra is sharing a great roundup of Valentine’s Day decor inspiration!

DIY Valentine’s Day Decor {Finding Cupid} is a post from Life...Your Way

© 2010-2012 Purple Martin Press, LLC | All rights reserved - This feed is provided for the convenience of Decorating Your Way subscribers. Any reproduction of the content within this feed is strictly prohibited. If you are reading this content elsewhere, please send an email to contact@yourway.net to let us know. Thanks.

Giveaway: Get Organized with a Set of Naked Binders

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 23:31:37 GMT

This giveaway is now closed! The winner is Carmen (sweepluv09@…)!

Can recycled office products save the world? Maybe not. But by creating products from recycled materials that are 100% recyclable and strong, they can keep 60 million pounds of toxic material from landfills each year improving air quality and preserving forests and wild spaces.

Here’s how:

Naked Binders are made in the USA from 100% recycled, 97-100% post-consumer waste board which means all Naked Binder products are 100% recyclable. They are proud to use FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified board when making their 3-ring binders and folders and are happy to be members of 1% For The Planet in which they donate part of proceeds to environmental organizations striving to preserve the wild spaces we all love.

A sustainable binder should also be strong and good looking, so Naked Binder designed them to be both. The Naked Binder is crafted from one piece of board with the hinge pressed directly into it. This leaves no weak spots on the binder and makes for a super strong 3-ring binder. An independent lab flexed the Naked Binder 250,000 times without failing which means if you use this binder 20 times a day for 34 years, you still will not break the hinge. Now that’s strong.

So, whether you’re buying a few for the shelf at home or cases for the office, you can be sure that your purchase, not only stylish, will go on to help the greater good.

Features:

Made in the USA
Round or square binder spines
1”, 1.5″, 2″, 2.5″ D-Ring
Completely recyclable
100% recycled board, 97% post-consumer waste
Independently tested to 250,000+ flexes

Choose from a variety of colors and sizes for all of your needs!

Enter to Win

This week, Naked Binder is giving one lucky Life…Your Way reader a set to try for themselves, including: a Naked Binder, a Naked Notebook Binder, a Project Binder, a set of Naked Tabs and a set of Notebook Tabs!

To enter, tell me what you’d organize with your Naked Binders!

This giveaway ends at 11:59 p.m. ET on Friday, 2/3. The winner will be selected randomly and notified by email, and this post will be updated with their name as well!

Giveaway: Get Organized with a Set of Naked Binders is a post from Life...Your Way

© 2010-2012 Purple Martin Press, LLC | All rights reserved - This feed is provided for the convenience of Organizing Your Way subscribers. Any reproduction of the content within this feed is strictly prohibited. If you are reading this content elsewhere, please send an email to contact@yourway.net to let us know. Thanks.

See Your Content Spread On Google+

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 20:00:23 GMT

The following post is from James of Google+ Tutorials:

Source:Google

As many of you know, I primarily blog on a blog that I co-founded called GPlusTuts. From that you might gather that I am quite passionate about Google+.

Actually I have been passionate about Google+ for quite a while now, from the moment it was released in fact, as I did and still do truly believe that Google is finally going to crack the social network market.

Well, Google+ is gathering momentum and attracting crazy amounts of new users every single day and although I have been on Google+ right from the very beginning, it’s only recently I have realized it’s true potential when it comes to sharing (and finding) great content.

You see, Google+’s main user base right now is enthusiastic people who are excited about the new social network, want to see it flourish and are spending large amounts of time consuming and sharing great content. If you are someone who puts out great content on your blog, does this seem to you that there might be a decent opportunity here?

Here are the steps that I would recommend taking to get involved with Google+ and get your content out there.

Get Your Profile Set Up

If you haven’t already, join Google+, once you are there make sure that you have a good quality profile. Upload a nice picture of yourself, give a succinct explanation of who you are, what you are about and the sorts of things you are going to be posting about. This will make a big difference when it comes to people deciding whether to circle you or not! Who wants to follow someone who can’t be bothered to fill in their profile, right?

Make Some Connections

It is most likely that you already know some people that are on Google+ already, which is great. The more people you can reach the better though, and there are ways that you can make connections with a lot of people who are relevant to your interests very quickly. My friend and co-founder of GPlusTuts, Dustin Stout, has developed a process called the “Gather, Rinse and Repeat” for making new and valuable connections on Google+.

I have been using it for the last week, and the amount of people who have circled me has tripled. Plus, I have as a result ended up circling a load of new people who are posting some amazing stuff that is of interest to me. Daily I go on to Google+ and get to interact with new friends and get constantly inspired to write new content to my blog by what other people are posting. It truly is a win-win situation!

Stop Posting From Twitter

What?! That’s right, you heard me! Stop posting from Twitter!

A short while ago I discovered a little tool from the guys at ManageFlitter which allows you to send all public posts on Google+ from Twitter also. Since then, I have pretty much posted everything from Google+ and duplicated to Twitter. This saves me time, but also means that I might get some extra traffic to my Google+ profile from Twitter users – as longer posts get shortened for Twitter with a link for the full post on Google+.

This step is by no means necessary but if it’s something you will find handy – check out my tutorial on how to use the ManageFlitter tool on GPlusTuts.

Post Your Awesome Content

Great content spreads like wildfire on Google+. So, make sure that you post some awesome stuff. Obviously, you can post links to your blog posts, but why not post some other, perhaps shorter, insights throughout the day? You can either share these publicly or to relevant, targeted circles who you know are going to appreciate the topic of the content you are putting out.

Personally, I am currently running an experiment by blogging about my weight loss journey purely through YouTube and Google+. Some people might see this as strange, but why not? Google allows the flexibility to post long posts with formatting to an extent, photos, video, etc – what more could you want? Plus, Google+ posts show up in Google search results, and from what I have seen they seem to rate really well. Don’t miss out – experiment today!

Realize The Power of +1′s

Google is getting serious about using Google+ data for general Google search. Heck, they recently released a feature which literally fuses the two together.

I highly recommend that you get a Google +1 button (which is Google’s answer to Facebook Like) on your blog ASAP! There are various plugins around – or you can get code directly from Google.

I hope that that gives you some helpful tips to get started and be as effective as you can be on Google+. I really think that it is a great social network for bloggers to interact with their communities, share great content, find great content, and forge valuable relationships.

Where are you at? Do you use Google+ already? Are you planning on using it? What are your feelings about Google+?

	James Brooks is a professional blogger and social media consultant based on the South West coast of England. As well as being a co-founder of Google+ Tutorials James also enjoys blogging about tea, food, and technology.

See Your Content Spread On Google+ is a post from Life...Your Way

© 2010-2012 Purple Martin Press, LLC | All rights reserved - This feed is provided for the convenience of Blogging Your Way subscribers. Any reproduction of the content within this feed is strictly prohibited. If you are reading this content elsewhere, please send an email to contact@yourway.net to let us know. Thanks.

FREE Webinar Reminder: Is Time Out a Waste of Time?

Mandi — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:35:43 +0000

Just a quick reminder that we’re holding two free parenting webinars on Thursday as Amy McCready from Positive Parenting Solutions answers the question, “Is Time Out a Waste of Time?”

Join us for this free live webinar on Thursday (12/2) at 2-3 p.m. EST and again at 9-10 p.m. EST — whichever time works best for you!

Amy promises that we’ll walk away with concrete tools we can use right away to see results — and I definitely felt that way after our first webinar with her. I’m really looking forward to hearing even more of her tips and strategies.

RSVP now, and I’ll see you then!

Have friends who would enjoy this webinar too? Click here to share the webinar on Facebook.

FREE Webinar Reminder: Is Time Out a Waste of Time? is a post from Life...Your Way

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Valentine’s Day Desserts {Finding Cupid}

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:01:54 GMT

source: Mandi Ehman

I’ve recently developed an obsession with cheesecake. It’s really only been in the last few years that I’ve even liked cheesecake, but suddenly I can’t get enough of it (no, I don’t have an pregnancy hormones to blame for this craving!).

Sean and I have started picking up two of the individual New York Cheesecake slices in the freezer section when we grocery shop for our at-home movie date nights, but I finally decided I need to figure out how to make one myself.

Unfortunately, the only item I have ever regretted getting rid of during my decluttering was a Pampered Chef spring form pan (which I had never used!), so I improvised and made mine in a baking stone instead. It turned out surprisingly well, although it was a bit harder to get out of the pan without the open sides (hence the separated crust in my picture).

This is definitely a recipe we’ll be making time and time again. Sean and I both love frozen cheesecake, so we ate a couple slices fresh and froze the rest in slices for easy desserts!

Basic Cheesecake Recipe with Strawberry Sauce

Adapted from Shaina’s Traditional Cheesecake with Raspberry Sauce

Ingredients:

2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 stick butter
¼ cup sugar
3 packages of cream cheese, softened
1 1/3 cups sugar
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 eggs
¾ cup sour cream

Directions:

Combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter together in a bowl and mix well. Dump the mixture into the bottom of your pan and use the bottom of a glass to press them down.

In a separate bowl, whip your cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar, cornstarch and vanilla. Mix in your eggs one at a time, followed by the sour cream. Pour onto your crust.

Bake at 350º for 50 minutes. You want it to puff up a little and be set but not brown. Turn off the oven and crack the oven door. Let the cheesecake cool in the oven for 20 minutes and then move to the counter. If using a springform pan, release the sides before transferring the cheesecake to the fridge to cool.

Serve with strawberry sauce.

Click here to add this recipe to your Plan to Eat account.

More Sweet Desserts

source: The Novice Chef

For even more sweet desserts, visit For the Mommas, where Shannon is sharing a great roundup of cookies, cupcakes, whoopie pies and more !

Valentine’s Day Desserts {Finding Cupid} is a post from Life...Your Way

Life Your Way {Full}

See My First Grader Save the Earth…from Juice Pouches!

Here’s all we had to do:

What are YOU going to do?

Printable “Flying High” Valentines

4 Tasty Ways with Leftovers

1. Package them for the freezer.

2. Make a potpie.

3. Make soup.

4. Toss a salad.

Amazon Deals: Kindle Freebies, Diaper Deals + More

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Weekend Reading: February 4, 2012

Motherhood {Love & Marriage}

Food {On the Menu This Week}

Success {I Think, Therefore I Am}

4 Tips for Family Computing

Use a desktop or all-in-one

Personalize it

Secure it

Use a kid-friendly browser

Valentine’s Day Snacks & Party Ideas {Finding Cupid}

More Snacks & Party Ideas

A Day in the Life of a Work-at-Home, Homeschooling Mom

How to Make Smart Financial Decisions

Give yourself some time.

Do your homework.

How to Make Smart Financial Decisions

Give yourself some time.

Do your homework.

Don’t be pressured.

Consider your goals and values.

Remember there’s no absolute right or wrong decision.

Free Valentine’s Day Printables {Finding Cupid}

More Free Printables

Homemade Baking Soda & Coconut Oil Deodorant

Mindset for Moms: From Mundane to Marvelous Thinking in Just 30 Days

Mindset for Moms

5 Ways to Show Your Clients You Care

#1 Congratulate your clients on milestone events.

#2 Keep in touch with your clients on a regular basis.

#3 Send business anniversary cards to celebrate the date you and your client started working together.

#4 Use your detective skills to discover your clients’ hobbies and interests.

#5 Include your clients in non-business activities.

DIY Valentine’s Day Decor {Finding Cupid}

More DIY Decor

Giveaway: Get Organized with a Set of Naked Binders

Enter to Win

See Your Content Spread On Google+

Get Your Profile Set Up

Make Some Connections

Stop Posting From Twitter

Post Your Awesome Content

Realize The Power of +1′s

FREE Webinar Reminder: Is Time Out a Waste of Time?

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Valentine’s Day Desserts {Finding Cupid}

Basic Cheesecake Recipe with Strawberry Sauce

More Sweet Desserts